First, I love your taco bullets. Second, I also walked out on a Tony Robbins seminar (I was 14 and it was the Fear Into Power Firewalking Experience - the Firewalking part WAS amazing I will say). I became very angry at him when I realized the entire audience was hypnotized and sobbing - I confronted him. He was gracious about my complaint though and offered a refund. The whole thing felt a little cult-ish.

Your list is solid, a few surprises on there. A few books I would add:

The Speed of Trust - Stephen Covey
~ Examines how we don't question people we know and trust vs. unproven entities

Mindless Eating is a great book. I have struggled with things like that. Dieting has been a struggle all my life. I am currently reading The New Turbo Protein Diet by Dr. Markert, for me it's finding a book that I can learn from and then sustain the things I learn!

I was given a copy of Stephen Coveys 7 habits when I was 21 and I fucking laughed at the title! I picked it up read at 27 then kicked my own arse for being such an ignorant little prick! I've read it about 8 times over the last few years (I'm 34 now) and It's a genuine masterpiece! So much value and so much work must have gone in to creating it! Definitely a must read for anyone wanting to better themselves.

Noah - what an inspiration you are! The Fountainhead is the book that changed me the most. An eye-opener! The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas is another one to consider for fiction. So powerful. Are there any other books you've read since then that you'd recommend in 2017? Thanks for this and for the podcast (and basically for the amount of value you give your audience).

The Way of the Superior Man. That's one of my all-time favorite books and (strangely), it's the only one of your list that actually resonates with me. See some other goods ones in there, but none that really jump out.

I rarely ever see anyone include The Fountainhead on their booklist and I am so glad you did, Noah. This could very well be my favorite read of all time (with the obvious exception to The Good Book) and I think anyone who takes pride in their work should read it. Thanks!

Gee, for someone so into 'reverse engineering' and into being ahead of the pack in both mind and body, read Hamlet backwards, no kidding, to understand the 'how to' in 'the readiness is all.' The breakdown of how to achieve such a state reads like a Tim Ferriss analysis on how to achieve the perfect mindset for taking on anything life has to throw at you.

1. Peter Drucker - On Management - Still Reads like a Contemporary Book
2. Herodutus - The History
3. Norman MacClean - Young Men and Fire - a book about the Mann Gulch fire in 1949, that everybody in the tech industry should read

I just finished listening to you on @tferriss podcast. You mentioned personal finance books, but Tim took off in another direction before you had a chance to finish. What are the titles you had in mind?

This list is AMAZING!!! So many books on here I never thought you'd be reading. I guess this post taught me that I should never make assumptions! I'm popping this list in Evernote and referring back to it for suggestions...

I loved Sex At Dawn. I know the selectiveness of the research has been trashed, but the main message I got from it was, "If your partner fancies someone else, it doesn't mean you're doomed or that they don't love you enough. Stop freaking out and don't end your relationship". I think if most people in couples took that attitude, there would be much less grief (and far fewer divorces).

If you're still taking suggestions, I'd add "Difficult Conversations" by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton & Sheila Heen.
They have a copy on the NASA Space Station, and at one point, it was required reading for everyone in the White House.
It's a total game-changer when it comes to relationships - and an easy, fun read.

I'm another big thumbs down on "Sex At Dawn". Spend some time with google and you'll see the extensive criticism, as well as the rebuttal volume. While I wish much of the book was true, as far as I can tell the book is mostly wishful thinking and sloppy scholarship.

Currently reading and also listening to Permission Marketing and the 10x rule by Grant Cordone.
Love the functionality of audiobooks for work etc, but cant help like feel I absorb the info much easier via a good book!
Question-if you could work on a project with any of these authors-who would you pick to work with and why!?
Jesse@colourworks

Wow, I've read quite a lot of them! One of my personal favourites is Why People Fail by a guy called Siimon Reynolds. I also love Robert Kiyosaki's book series Rich Dad Poor Dad. Re-Work is good from the base camp guys. The One Minute manager is brilliant. What got you here Won't get you there is also worth checking out TTFN

Sex at Dawn... wow, what an unreal book. And I'm only at the first chapter. It has already backed up a ton of what I've learned and thought for years, extending beyond human sexuality and into areas such as money, financial markets and selling, all of which are, at their core, about sex.

The only book on the list I've read is the 7 Habits by Stephen Covey, which is very good.

However, the two books that have solidified their places as "must read" material for me are:
1. Linchpin by Seth Godin
2. The Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss

I've read a lot of books (hardly any compared to some people, but more than most), and these two have done more than any others, far and away, to help me realize that 9-to-5'ing it is not a viable long-term option.

I would recommend "The Idea Hunter" by Andy Boynton and Bill Fischer, "Social Business Excellence" by Vala Afshar and Brad Martin, "The Art of Learning" by Josh Waitzkin, and "Smart Thinking" by Art Markman.

Love 7 Habits and Sex at Dawn. Just ordered Seth's book. Positive thoughts about Ayn - love the way she captures what it feels like to take responsibility, overcome challenges and failure, and make a sale. Thanks for continuing to be Business Yoda.

Hi there! Love your blog! Great post! I'm in the midst of reading the way of the superior man... you seem really aware and that you live your life in congruence with your purpose... I'm wondering what your favorite message from the way of the superior man is and why? Thanks in advance for your insight 🙂

I have a tendency to select books by intuition. That being said, I've read a fair deal of these books and some I've acquired recently. I'm taking 3 from you: Score takes care of itself, Paradox, and possibly the Sales Machine.

In exchange, I'll share 3 that are holding me in good stead:

1. Priceless by William Poundstone
2. The Art of Profitability by Adrian Slywotzky
3. The Profit Zone: How Strategic Business Design will lead you to tomorrow's profits by Adrian Slywothzky and David J. Morrison.

Hum... Amazing how some of these books are standing right here by my side waiting to be read. All bought last month, back when I had no idea you were on Earth by this time. Now is even harder to figure which one is gonna be the next on the line... Fuck... ¬¬

ps: the one in my hands at the moment is "The Magic of Thinking Big" by David J. Schwartz

- be away of negative people
- don't let anyone who is negative steal your dreams
- train your mind to get back at the flow stage whenever it seems to be going on the other way

Recent Great Read - Decisive by Chip and Dan Heath. Also love their first two books Made to Stick and Switch.

Also, Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely. The first chapter alone is well worth reading for any marketer or business person.

Diet for a New America - by John Robbins Not a diet book, but a summation of enormous amounts of research on the impact of diet on health, personal energy, the environment and global issues. One of the best books I have ever read on any topic. A must read!

I could list dozens or phenomenal books in a variety of categories, but will spare everyone for now.

Thank you, Noah. I'll add to my list. Some of the books confirm my conclusions developed through observations and thinking. Though with some of my conclusions I;d rather be wrong than right, call me a sucker for confirmation bias! 🙂

My list in addition to a few books that you mentioned and leaving out all the Russian ones:

The New Brain by Richard Restak Has a chapter (2?) that I require read of anyone that wants to master any skill.

Charlie Wilson's War (how to achieve seemingly impossible by doing what no one believes is possible and at the end realize that your victory short term is a huge loss long-term)

Steve Jobs by Isaacson (I am dying to learn what he left unsaid: what Jobs suggested to Zuckerberg, Google boys, etc. about how to handle boards. Also, the story of Jobs refusing to give equity to one of his friends who was with him from day one, left lots of questions in my mind)

You should add My Losing Season by Pat Conroy to that list. A great story teller telling the story of his own life. Also puts how great our own lives are compared to others into perspective and teaches us the power of forgiveness.

Let me recommend you try:
Sex at Dusk: Lifting the Shiny Wrapping from Sex at Dawn Paperback by Lynn Saxon

She's an actual anthropologist who points out all the misleading and incomplete bases for Chris Ryan's ... let's call it "less than entirely accurate" book. I read the two in sequence -- and what a fun ride! Ryan SEEMS so persuasive and accurate -- and they you read Saxon and she points out where he has carefully picked the tiniest bits of what someone wrote to make a point that is the opposite of what the source actually wrote!

EVERYONE should read Daring Greatly by Brene Brown. The world would be a far kinder and supportive place if everyone modified (even a little) their attitude to life and other people, as indicated in this book.

The War of Art - read very recently: is very good

Also Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Have to check out "From Darwin to Munger". Very good suggestion. I am in process of getting to "Poor Charlie's Almanack' by Charlie Munger.

Hey Noah,
Other than old Anne Rand, I didn't see a lot of fiction on your list. Non-fiction is absolutely awesome, and a must for self improvement. Sometimes though, life's lessons are absorbed rather than memorized, and I think its here that fiction has its place. So here are a few book titles you may also enjoy; fiction all, but life's vivid colour written into each of them:

The story of San Michel (out of print but still possible to find) on belief in oneself
The razor's edge (Sommerset Magham) on redemption
The Far pavilions ( MM kaye) on self reliance
The power of one (Bruce Courtney) on toughness
Finding Forester (cant remember who wrote it) on compassion
The 20 book series by Patrick O'Reilly starting with master and commander (A truly awesome series, a tomb about a great friendship)
The sun also rises (Hemingway) on playing the hand your dealt
the snow leopard (cant remember who wrote it but one of the best books I have ever read period - you'd like it noah, it is about a guy dealing with loss, and doing his best to get over it)((I think it was Peter Mathieson come to think of it))
Surfing the Himalayas (Frederick Lenz) fun romp about Buddhism and mountain climbing
Last of the Mohicans (cooper) great book about telling society of the day to fuck-off and do what is important for you and your family

Happy reading, each of these books gave me something to remember.
Keep writing Noah, and I'll keep reading
cheers
Pat

That book called Flow (by Csezmihali)? It was hard to get through, but the colors on the 1st Edition Hardcover are amazing. Red, orange and bue, matched exactly. I copied them as the color scheme for my guest bedroom at my house. Stunning. Everything has a use.